a bird in the bedroom is worth how much?

This fine morning I was trying really hard to lie to myself and pretend that I was still asleep at 6. It wasn't working. I was listening to all of the birds outside. I sleep with the windows open whenever possible. They were making an unprecidented amount of noise today and I heard one that I don't remember ever having heard before. It was very loud and distinctive. I then heard a crash in the dining room. My first thought, as the dogs were in their pen, was a mouse. I have had a hell of a time keeping field mice out of the house since Keeno died. I tried to be all stealthy and sneak out of my bedroom to see if I could eyeball the little bastard when there was an even bigger crash. What I saw was a small very frightened brown bird. The window in my study apparently doesn't have a screen in it this morning and he/she flew right in. The poor thing was slamming into every window trying to get out. I did my best bird wrangler impression and tried to point it to the guest bedroom. Imagine me, half naked, swinging my arms around and over my head all while making these little calming, as if to a sick child, sounds. Yep that was me. I got the bird into the guest room, shut the door and opened a screen window. The next 15 minutes were spent with my doing more of the same waving and cooing at this poor little bird as it flew around the room about 20 times. Eventually, after a frank discussion about the fates of small birds and drywall and the mechanics of energy the bird flew out the open window. I am sure that it was the conversation and discussion of physics and energy that did it. That will drive anyone to charge out the nearest window.

Feeling very self important at having "saved" an animal life I took a moment to realize it was a bit chilly and so I headed back to the warm, soft, wool blankets of my bed. I had just slid under the covers when I heard a crash from the dining room. This one was for sure a mouse! Again I became captain stealth and slunked toward the room.....only to find another, identical small brown bird. Now just re-read the previous paragraph but change 20 to 30ish. I don't know if both of these birds came in together or if there is some magical bird portal that opens into my dining room. I decided not to stay and find out so I got dressed and headed out of the house to kill some time out in the world for a bit before chaining myself to the shop for the day.

later,
Sam